Art of Gears
Fansided

Up All Day & Night To Watch The 24-Hour Le Mans: Part One

By David Castro

Safety car leads followed by Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 WEC's British driver Mike Conway during the start of the 89th edition of Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, in Le Mans, northwestern France, on August 21, 2021. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images)
Safety car leads followed by Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 WEC's British driver Mike Conway during the start of the 89th edition of Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, in Le Mans, northwestern France, on August 21, 2021. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images) /
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For reasons that still remain unclear I thought it would be a good idea to stay up for a day straight and watch the 2021 24-Hours of Le Mans in its entirety. I’ve always wanted to do this, but I’m not sure why I picked this Saturday.

Regardless, I am about eight-hours into the race and I am enjoying myself. I am a racing fan and I have a strong love affair with the 24-Hours of Le Mans, but staying up for a day straight is tough.

I had intended to get a good night of sleep before the race, gotta rest up for a big day, but last night I found myself more interested in watching “American Dad” reruns. When I have a big day ahead of me I always tell myself to have a low-key evening and then to bed early, but I often end up over indulging and then I am in a fog the next morning.

For today and tomorrow I have set myself up to succeed with a balance diet of Mountain Dew, espresso, Sour Patch Kids and protein shakes. I will still have my usual three meals a day but I have augmented my diet with more sugar and caffeine than usual.

My family are incredibly understanding and patient this weekend. I am a lucky man that my wife said yes. It’s moments like these when I wonder why she said yes, but I am eternally grateful. She watched the opening lap and then left the room and I can’t blame her. She likes cars and will attend races in person, but I know that a race on TV is not her fave and I respect that. Her loyalty to me is boundless and that includes motorsports journalism.

My son is in the same boat as my wife: he has an interest in cars, Gran Turismo on the PS4, but doesn’t like watching racing it on TV. He’s popped in a few times to see how the race is going but I think that’s more of wellness check on his dad. I am nothing without the support of my family.

For a long stretch of the first eight-hours of the race my cats and dogs have kept me company, but their companionship has occurred while they have been napping. I can’t complain about their napping because I could use the company after sitting through a rain-delayed start and a lot of yellow flags.

The racing is good and I am going against my Reynolds School of Journalism education and I am openly rooting for my all-time favorite driver, Juan Pablo Montoya. I do my best to stay objective when I cover sports (I sat out Montreal Canadiens vs Arizona Coyotes games during my hockey reporting days to avoid covering my beloved Habs), but today I’d like to DragonSpeed do well in the LMP2 class.

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 15: Actress Tina Fey and husband Jeff Richmond attend the “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” premiere, sponsored by Buffalo David Bitton, on December 15, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Buffalo David Bitton)
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 15: Actress Tina Fey and husband Jeff Richmond attend the “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” premiere, sponsored by Buffalo David Bitton, on December 15, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Buffalo David Bitton) /

My wife did keep me company a while later but our focus was not on the race, it was on the height difference between Tina Fey and her husband, Jeff Richmond. I am not particularly tall, I am a distinctly average 5-foot-8, but I have a theory that height can dictate one’s dating pool.

My theory is fairly simple: if you are above average height but not super tall, say 6-foot-5 and above, you have a pretty wide swath of potential mates or suitors.

If you are below the minimum and above the maximum height you might have issues finding prospects. It sounds far fetched but ask shorter men if they’ve had this mentioned to them or ask very tall dudes.

This is not an absolute, just a theory based on years of being single and many of my friends being single.  I lucked out in the long run by marrying someone six-inches shorter than me and she said I fell in her threshold of height.

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I don’t have many hang ups about my own body or looks, but I have issues with my height. I always feel short, that’s not a bad thing but I have a complex about it. With that said, big ups to Jeff Richmond for being absolutely self assured in his life. I envy it.

Our side chat about Tina Fey’s height relative to her husband eventually ended and I was back alone to watch the race.

To be continued…

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